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So, here’s a wild one for you. Bungie, the guys behind the upcoming Marathon, got caught up in a bit of a mess. Apparently, some of their in-game art wasn’t exactly their own, if you catch my drift. Yeah, it turns out they used some assets that were, um, “borrowed” from another artist. Oops.
This whole thing blew up when an artist named Fern, who goes by “4nt1r34l” on Twitter—what a handle, right?—put out some side-by-side pics. She was all like, “Hey, Marathon’s using stuff I made way back in 2017!” And you look at the pics, and honestly, it’s hard not to see it. Kinda embarrassing, if you think about it.
Bungie, naturally, decided to drop a note on their Discord about it. They’re diving into a “thorough review” of all their art stuff to make sure they haven’t snuck in any other, uh, “inspired” pieces without realizing it. They’ve gotta check that there’s no more art by… unplanned collaboration, let’s call it.
And Fern wasn’t pulling any punches. She was like, “Sure, Bungie didn’t have to give me a job. But they sure liked my stuff enough to, you know, borrow it for their game. Without asking. Or paying.” Ouch. That’s gotta sting a bit, right?
The really juicy part? The person behind this artistic escapade? They’re not at Bungie anymore. Coincidence? Maybe. But Bungie says they found out that a former artist slipped Fern’s designs into the game’s textures. The current team? Totally clueless about it, or so they claim. They’re still piecing together how this even happened.
And then, the corporate apology tour begins. Bungie’s all, “We take this super seriously.” They’ve reached out to Fern—they’d better!—trying to patch things up. They’ve even got policies about this stuff. Who knew?
But it’s not all just talk. They’re gonna be double-checking all their assets, especially anything the former artist worked on. They don’t want another oopsie like this. They say they value artists and, you know what, they should. After all, this kind of drama? Not the kind you want when you’re trying to launch a big game. Talk about a headache.
So, if nothing else, at least it’s making sure they’re on their toes now. And maybe, just maybe, other developers are taking notes. Or at least, that’s the hope.
